In a recent Coloradoan editorial entitled, “Ideas, Innovation Boost Region’s National Ranking: Best Performing Cities Honor Reflects Area’s Forward-thinking Approach” it was reported that the Fort Collins-Loveland region is now #3 in the nation on the U.S. Best Performing Cities Index according to the Milken Institute, a 501(c)(3) public charity and nonpartisan, independent think tank whose work makes a difference in the lives of people worldwide by helping create a more democratic and efficient global economy.

Projects such as Rocky Mountain Innosphere, the Arts Incubator of the Rockies, a partnership with the city of Fort Collins, Colorado State University and Beet Street, the CSU’s Engines and Energy Conversion Lab, and Loveland’s Aerospace Clean Energy project through the Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology, contributed toward our top rating.

The Best Performing Cities index includes both long-term (five years) and short-term (one year) measurements of employment and salary growth. There are also four measurements of technology output growth, which are included because of technology’s crucial role in creating good jobs and driving regional economies. The index ranks 379 metropolitan areas, grouped into large (population of more than 200,000) and small (population of less than 200,000) metros.

The number one and two positions went to San Antonio and El Paso, Texas, respectively. For more information about the U.S. Best Performing Cities Index, please visit www.milkeninstitute.org.